Cham Dance Buddhist Ceremony in Pin Valley

Cham Dance at Kungri Monastery in the Himalaya

This article revolves around the amazing and unique Buddhist Cham Dance that takes place at Kungri Monastery in a remote area of the Himalaya called Pin Valley in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh State of northern India and is undertaken by the Buddhist Monks of the Monastery, young and old.

Let the festival begin

Kungri Monastery in the Pin Valley region of Spiti is a Tibetan buddhist monastery of the Nyingma sect, it was built around 1330 A.D and is the second largest monastery in Spiti. Situated high up on a hill overlooking the Pin river it affords majestic views up and down the Valley. And that is not all, it is also known for its annual Cham Dance.

Opening Ceremony

The Cham Dance is a Buddhist festival, a masked costumed dance that the local monks take part in whereby traditional drums are beaten, horns are blown and mantra’s recited as masked monks dance around the Monastery courtyard to the wonderment of the local residents.

Masked monks re-enact incidents from the life of Padmasambhava

The Cham Dance is considered an act of meditation and an offering to the Gods with merit given to all those who perceive them. These dances often offer moral instruction to us mere mortals relating to one of the main Buddhist tenets of compassion.

Buddhist Devotee

Not only do the local Buddhists come to watch the Cham Festival but others travel from far and wide to witness the two day event. Prior to the opening ceremony, stalls outside the monastery are heaving with customers bartering over Himalayan shawls, clothes, fancy jewelry and other haberdashery items. It’s a real day out that the everyone makes the most of.

Locals from Pin Valley

Hitching a ride

The cultural religious festival of Cham at Kungri Monastery took place this year 2011 during the month of July on the 9th and 10th. As for 2012 it’s hard to say what the actual dates will be as it changes with the Tibetan Lunar calendar. Finding out this year was quite a trying job, locals seem to have a vague idea but your best bet is to speak to a lama in one of the local gompa’s (monasteries) and they will consult the magic book!

Demon Mask during the Cham Dance

Scary Masks at the Cham Dance

Kungri Monastery is located some distance up Pin Valley which in turn is situated within Spiti Valley and even though I was there during the summer month of July the weather was overcast, windy and very cool. It is a high altitude valley in the Indian himalaya so even in summer if the sun does’nt show itself prepared to get wrapped up to some degree.

Kungri Monastery Cham Dance Venue

Spectators at the Cham Dance

Rosary Beads

Masked Dancers

The Audience at the Cham Dance

Cham Dance Band

Pin Valley itself is a steep sided valley with towering mountains either side of the Pin River, the rock formations are astounding, outlandish to say the least and you can also see a variety of wildlife along with the huge domesticated Yak. At the end of the valley is the village of Mud where if you want to go any further its a matter of trekking for several days over high altitude passes to reach a metaled road over in Parvati valley.

If you like this post or have anything to add please leave a comment, G+1 or Share and MANY THANKS for visiting. If you are interested in using any images for the web or any other means please be sure to contact me or visit the Homepage where you can find a wide variety of Images and Collections for Personal or Commercial use.PLEASE BE AWAREAll Images are my own and copyright protected, all rights reserved.

2 Responses

Hi Anthony!Sorry I couldn't come espalier but blog problems came up then my mail box spammed several friends' comments!The joys of blogging!!Anyhow, your pictures are incredible, they makes me travel beautifully!A great reportage!Never thought of filming?? 🙂Happy new Year to you too and many more photos of this quality… A selfish wish! LOL!Keep well and travel safely!